Results 20,261-20,280 of 24,350 for speaker:Jerry Buttimer

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2010)

Jerry Buttimer: I am referring to those who have no capacity to work. The Minister spoke about activation measures but there are people who genuinely cannot work and they should not face any difficulty in receiving the disability allowance, but they are. The Minister spoke about work participation activation measures. At the height of the Celtic tiger era, the boom did not create a huge surge in work...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2010)

Jerry Buttimer: How many quotas have been met in the public service?

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2010)

Jerry Buttimer: I know, but my question is important.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2010)

Jerry Buttimer: The Minister of State, Deputy Mary White, is a member of a political party and understands the concept of being in partnership. This is the most callous section of the Bill as in it a cut is imposed on carers. A carer is someone who looks after, protects and minds people. If the Minister of State is talking about social justice, how can she justify this section which penalises carers?...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2010)

Jerry Buttimer: -----or they are not down in the hair-dressing salon getting their nails varnished. These are ordinary persons who are honest-to-God citizens who are struggling. I challenge the Minister of State, Deputy White, and her colleagues in Government to come out on to the streets and to the townlands to meet those who are struggling. It is all fine and dandy to state we must do so much. There is...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2010)

Jerry Buttimer: That is extraordinary.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2010)

Jerry Buttimer: Let us call a spade a spade here. Let us look at what Inclusion Ireland, which is not a political body, stated. The measures in the budget means those on disability allowances are down €847.60 a year since 2008. I refer to those on disability allowance and on the carer's allowance. Whether the Minister likes it, he is attacking the living standards of the people who need the most. In...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2010)

Jerry Buttimer: The Minister referred to the 40% of expenditure by his Department. I understand he has to make savings and I support him in his agenda for reform. However, what upsets me most about this budget is its failure to put social justice at its core. The Minister spoke about fraud. Last year, his predecessor as Minister, Deputy Hanafin, was going to be the white horse in her Department. She set...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2010)

Jerry Buttimer: Excuse me, she was the lady of the manor sitting on the horse. As Senator McFadden noted, the problem with respite care is the limited number of places. I know people in Cork who can only get a week of respite care here and there. Senator McDonald spoke about the Government's social conscience but where is it to be found in this section? The Minister noted that the State is great at paying...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2010)

Jerry Buttimer: I am, and I apologise. If we are talking about the vulnerable, this part of the Bill should not be passed. The Minister should reconsider it. We have shown in our document that it can be done differently.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2010)

Jerry Buttimer: What has the Minister done with that section of the Bill, which is another difficulty? We are putting people into poverty to stay. Since the budget, I have met friends who told me they are better off on social welfare than by getting a job.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2010)

Jerry Buttimer: It is not.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2010)

Jerry Buttimer: I will argue the toss with the Minister. It is not.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2010)

Jerry Buttimer: I will gladly argue this issue with the Minister until the cows come home. The Bill is about people, and we are here to represent the people, be their voice and be their representatives.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2010)

Jerry Buttimer: I am on section 3. I will conclude on this point. If we value people, have a social conscience and want to have a just and fair society, we should not pass this section of the Bill.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2010: Second Stage (14 Dec 2010)

Jerry Buttimer: It sounds like the banks.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2010: Second Stage (14 Dec 2010)

Jerry Buttimer: They will not be going now.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2010: Second Stage (14 Dec 2010)

Jerry Buttimer: Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. This is the biggest attack on family life and ordinary men and women.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2010: Second Stage (14 Dec 2010)

Jerry Buttimer: This is the biggest attack, and the Minister of State and his colleagues have brought it in and will vote for it tonight. Shame on them.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2010: Second Stage (14 Dec 2010)

Jerry Buttimer: Cutbacks hurt the old, the poor and the disabled. The House should remember it. This is what they are introducing here. We should be serious about jobs and honest about putting a value on work but this Bill and this budget do not do that. The Bill discriminates against people. There is a 4% reduction across the board in social welfare. We hear the mantra about the cost of living coming...